In honor of Black History Month, this article features Dwayne McDuffie, an influential figure in the comic book industry
By: Austin Gonzales
Dwayne McDuffie was a luminous figure that stood tall among giants in the comic book industry. When mainstream media comics at the time still lacked a diverse cast of characters and storytelling, McDuffie decided to spark a revolution.
The all-black artist/writer team of McDuffie, Denys Cowan, Michael Davis, and Derek T. Dingle founded Milestone Media. This new comic book publication published characters that represented marginalized people that rarely appeared in large prints like Marvel Comics at the time. It was during his time at Milestone Comics that McDuffie created Virgil Hawkins, who readers might know today as the titular hero of “Static Shock.”
In the early 2000s, then DC editor-in-chief, Jenette Khan, reached out to Milestone Media to bring the Static character to television screens. McDuffie was hired on board to the animated adaptation with a staff of “Superman: The Animated Series” alumni. From there on, “Static Shock” would find its home on The WB network’s Kids’ WB block.
McDuffie’s writing on “Static Shock” would often reflect the stories he always wanted to tell. The series and its lead character, Virgil Hawkins, mirrored a lot of McDuffie’s self and personal grievances. The series told episodic stories around 15-year-old Virgil, a teenager who gain’s electric powers due to a freak accident during a dispute between local gangs and police. Homelessness, gun violence, the loss of a parent, McDuffie got to express many stories that would not only represent Black people but other marginalized groups.
Static Shock’s tackle on social issues was unlike any other animated series at the time. The show’s second season finale won a Humanitas Prize in Children’s Entertainment. This episode took a main focus on bullying and gun violence in schools. As the viewer, we sit in the same room as Virgil as he tells the story of his bullied friend, Jimmy, and a school shooting. Throughout the episode we see Virgil find clues that Jimmy might be at his limits with the bullying he receives at school. When Virgil discovers that Jimmy brought a gun with him to school, he rushes over as Static to save the day. Unfortunately, Virgil made it too late. His best friend, Richie, was shot in the leg during a physical altercation with Jimmy and the bullies.
“Static Shock” was never afraid to take on challenging social issues. McDuffie made the series to reflect issues he’s seen in society and encountered personally.
The series’ reruns would make the move to WB sister network Cartoon Network, where it found huge success.
“It was a hit by any standards,” McDuffie told Toonzone news. “When they started running it on Cartoon Network…the reruns on Cartoon Network were, for five to six months, [the] number two show on Cartoon Network. Behind only Family Guy.”
Kids found themselves relating to Virgil Hawkins much more than other superhero characters at the time. Unlike Superman or Batman, Virgil was a teenager. He was into comic books, hip-hop and video games. He lost his mother due to gang violence, and lives with his father and older sister in Dakota City. In a time where DC animation consisted of rich billionaires and fantastic supermen, young audiences just wanted to see a little bit of themselves on TV.
“Everyone agreed that we should have a teen aged hero, and I’d previously tried to develop something along those lines, strongly influenced by Spider-Man, in the late-eighties when I was over at Marvel,” McDuffie told The World’s Finest on dcanimated.com. “I’d always been partial to Spider-Man as a child, particularly the teen version. I wanted to do a contemporary teen hero to fill that then-empty niche.”
McDuffie’s phenomenal work with “Static Shock” would land him a story editor position on “Justice League” and the “Ben 10” franchise and a producer position on “Justice League: Unlimited” on Cartoon Network. On Feb. 21, 2011, Dwayne McDuffie died due to complications from his heart surgery. Many in the comic book and animation industry came forward to pay tribute to the legendary writer. Dwayne McDuffie was born and raised in Detroit – a lover of comic books, just looking for change. McDuffie aspired to see characters that looked like him, lived a life similar to his own. So, he took those aspirations and started a comic book revolution.
